Randomized Study of the Benefits of Preoperative Cosrticosteroid Administration on Hepatic I/R Injury

The Liver Unit of the Department of Surgery at the Milan University, Italy, published in September's issue of HPB journal a study which aimed at determining wether steroid administration may reduce liver injury and improve short term outcome.

The study included 43 patients undergoing liver resection, randomizing the groups to steroid receiving patients and a control group. Patients receiving steroids, were given 500 mg of methylprednisolone preoperatively. Levels of ALT, AST, total bilirubin, AT-III, PT, IL-6, TNF alfa were compared. Length of stay and complications were recorded.

Postoperative serum levels of ALT,AST, total bilirubin, inflammatory cytokines were lower in the steroid group. The incidence of postoperative complications in the control group tended to be higher than the steroid group.

The study concluded that steroid pretreatment represents a potentially important biologic modifier of I/R injury and may contribute to maintenance of coagulant/anticoagulant homeostasis.


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